Saturday, October 07, 2006

These factors all have a hand in the way the human body will react to the force.But beyond all the research that the committee collected and analyzed to develop this standard, one of the most convincing pieces of evidence that roller coasters are safe is a study published in October 2002 in the Journal of Neurotrauma by University of Pennsylvania researchers Dr. Douglas H. Smith and Dr. David F. Meaney. The study attempts to produce “any sound evidence or analysis directly linking roller coasters with brain injury,” by using a mathematical model to determine the effects of three popular coasters in the U.S.—Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster at Disney MGM Studios in Florida; Speed, The Ride at the Nascar Café in Las Vegas and Face Off at King’s Island in Ohio. Smith and Meaney, a neuroscientist and a bioengineer, concluded that roller coasters do not cause brain injury.

On the ride into the future, roller coaster design will undoubtedly branch off into

unmarked territory, unforeseen by the designers and riders of today. But for now, launch

systems, namely hydraulic and pneumatic are the state of the art standard.